Bond
by a1y-puff
Summary: For Crysaliz in Cactuscontinuum LJ . It starts with little things that remind them of each other, and they begin to miss each other’s presence. Hints on TezuFuji. oneshot.


**Title: BOND**  
**Pairing:** Tezuka/Fuji  
**Prompter:** Crysaliz in LJ  
**Prompt: **Adults, reflecting on the past. Flashbacks loved 3  
**Word Count:** 1800  
**Genre: **mild drama / (imply-able) friendship P  
**Summary:** It starts with little things that remind them of each other, and they begin to miss each other's presence.  
**Warnings:** Switching POVs and timelines.  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. Nuff said :(  
**Beta:** lovefujitez in LJ.

**A/N: **Sorry for the crappy title. I have no other Idea T.T. And Crysaliz, I think this fic is pretty different from what you might've expected it to be, but I hope you'll enjoy this :)

* * *

_**--/BOND/--**_

* * *

_I'm always remembering  
Your dear existence  
And what I really want is  
The part that isn't just a memory_

(Supernova by Bump of Chicken)

* * *

_**--/D/--**_

They didn't go abroad to some faraway country; they're actually living in the same city, the capital of Japan, Tokyo.

But, Tokyo is still a big city.

And after some time, they simply drifted apart.

* * *

_**--/E/--**_

Tezuka stood up from his chair and reached out to shake his client's hand after which the woman excuses herself with a satisfied smile.

Just as Tezuka walked her to the door, the woman took a good look at his office, and threw an offhand comment, "Your office looks so plain, Tezuka-san. Don't you want to put some pictures on the wall or on your desk?"

Tezuka stiffened at the comment, with a memory replaying in his mind.

'_Your room looks so bland, Tezuka. Some pictures on the wall won't hurt, ne?'_

The smiling face he hadn't seen in quite a while then came to his mind. He remembered Fuji's comment the first time he stepped into Tezuka's room in their second year of Junior high.

_Fuji…_

How long had it been since the last time he saw him?

"Tezuka-san?" the woman called as she noticed her lawyer spacing out.

With the voice of his client, Tezuka found himself back in the present. He muttered his apology and walked his client to the door. After exchanging their goodbyes, Tezuka closed the door behind him and took a look around his office.

Then, he thought that maybe, a picture or two wouldn't hurt.

**-oOo-**

Fuji took a long glance at the Tennis court not far from the café he currently sat in. He was meeting someone from the Magazine to give his photographs, and the café where the appointment took place just happened to be near a tennis court.

Fuji rarely held a racket these past years.

"Ah, you used to play tennis, right?"

At the question, Fuji turned his head from the window and smiled to acknowledge his companion.

"They used to call you 'Tensai Fuji Shuusuke', right? You must be really good," the short-haired man kept on talking as he sat down the chair. "Hey, how about we play a bit some time? I occasionally play tennis too, just for a hobby, though."

"Saa, I haven't played in quite a while," Fuji replied. Then, he turned his head to the courts again, and opened his eyes to take the full-view of the tennis courts. For a split-second, the figure of a certain stoic youth in a Seigaku regular jersey came to his mind.

Fuji let a small smile formed on his lips. Somehow, tennis always reminded him of Tezuka. His mind idly joked if he searched for the word "tennis" in dictionary, he would see Tezuka's photo next to it. Fuji wondered if Tezuka is still playing, after learning that Tezuka is a famous lawyer now, and quite well-known for his ability to conquer the _courts_.

Fuji smirked at the unintentional pun destiny threw at his old friend.

Somehow, he's missing Tezuka.

Turning his head to his companion, Fuji could see that the man was still waiting for his answer. Smiling, he thought that maybe, one friendly game of tennis wouldn't hurt.

* * *

_**--/B/--**_

Weeks before their junior high graduation, Fuji appeared unannounced at Tezuka's house.

"You could've called first," was Tezuka's first words upon finding Fuji on his doorstep. Fuji just smiled, and without any other words, Tezuka led the other teen to his room.

Once they were in Tezuka's room, Fuji, rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a stack of CDs. "I brought you these." he announced jovially.

Seeing the stack of CDs, Tezuka frowned questioningly.

"Turn on your computer, please?" Fuji asked, ignoring the unspoken question Tezuka had thrown at him. Tezuka complied with his visitor's request. Knowing Fuji, turning on the computer was the only way to find out about the CDs.

Tezuka sat on his bed and allowed Fuji to take over the seat in front of his PC, watching his friend as he made clicking noises with the mouse repeatedly.

"Come here, Tezuka," Fuji finally said, twisting his upper body on the swivel chair so that he was now facing Tezuka.

Tezuka stood from his bed and walked the short distance to where his PC was, and he bent forward, using one hand to support his weight on the desk. On his monitor, Tezuka could see folders containing photos of the Tennis club.

"These are the pictures I've taken during our three years in the club," Fuji explained before Tezuka could ask anything.

Tezuka just nodded.

"We'll graduate soon, so I'm sharing these pictures with you. I also made copies for the other regulars. The non-regulars can ask Inui if they want copies of these pictures," he continued with a somewhat wistful smile.

Not knowing what to say, Tezuka just nodded once more.

"After graduation, we're going to different schools, and we might just drift apart. I hope these pictures would be some kind of remembrance for everyone, that we were once together," Fuji said again with a soft tone of voice filled with sentimentality Tezuka never knew the tensai possessed.

But then, the mixed feeling inside him upon hearing his friend's words indicated that he had just found out that _he _also had that kind of sentimentality.

"We'll be in touch," Tezuka said, breaking the pregnant silence that had enveloped them for a moment.

Fuji let his cerulean orbs revealed as he threw a small smile to his now ex-captain.

"Of course…"

* * *

_**--/F/--**_

Looking at the photos, Tezuka noticed whenever he and Fuji were in the same frame, they were almost always next to each other. Although there were not a lot of pictures with Fuji in it, since he was always the one behind the lens. The occasional photo with both teens present, they were always near each other.

Tezuka remembered being really comfortable in Fuji's presence, for some reasons he didn't bother to decipher back then.

Then, he sighed.

They were so close, literally and metaphorically. But now, even emails had become a rare occasion.

**-oOo-**

While sitting on his carpeted floor, Fuji stared at the pile of photo albums that laid open on the floor before him. A smile formed on his lips as he looked at the photos of his junior high days, bringing back fond memories.

He caught a glimpse of a photo of him and Tezuka, taken after the promised match during their last year in middle school. In that photo, Tezuka was _smiling_ while snaking his arm around a crying Fuji.

A wistful smile crept up onto his face.

They used to chase each other's shadow and pull out whatever real self they had. But now, they didn't even have time to see each other.

* * *

_**--/A/--**_

From the first time Fuji saw Tezuka, he had the feeling that this boy would mean something to his life. Thus, Fuji decided to be his friend.

Tezuka wasn't easy to approach, considering his lack of speech and how he acted mature for his age, but that wasn't something Fuji couldn't handle. He had thought back then that no matter how stoic Tezuka was, he was still human, and humans _need_ friends.

With that thought in mind, Fuji started to approach Tezuka. He helped the bespectacled boy collecting balls which was supposed to be a punishment for him only. He acted ever-so-friendly despite Tezuka's stoic attitude, and offered rivalry when the others were busy admiring and envying the dark-haired youth's tennis skills.

Eventually, Tezuka came to acknowledge his presence. Especially after their first match during their freshmen year, Tezuka started to see him as a friend. And by their second year, they had become close friends.

So close that they had come to possess the silent understanding which Fuji had really appreciated and fond of.

* * *

_**--/G/--**_

Now that Tezuka thought about it, he had never had someone who understood him so well like Fuji did. Oishi was able to understand him fairly well, even until now, but he felt like there's something different by how Oishi and Fuji understood him. But even now, he still couldn't really figure out what the difference is.

And now he's starting to miss Fuji.

**-oOo-**

Fuji wondered why they had drifted apart. In high school they still had occasional gatherings for the team, but as time went by, the gathering had become less frequent until they no longer held it, which left the once-in-a-while phone calls and emails as their means of communication. Since they entered college, though, they drifted even further apart.

Fuji idly thought that his effort of becoming friends with Tezuka had now gone to waste if he wasn't going to make any move to renew the bond between them.

* * *

_**--/C/--**_

They used to think that even if they were going to walk different paths towards their future, the bond they forged during the two and a half year wouldn't dissolve so easily. They thought that they'd still be in touch one way or another.

But at that time, they didn't think that if none of them made the effort to nurture their relationship, they would eventually drift apart.

* * *

_**--/H/--**_

Tezuka glanced at the clock hanging on the wall across his seat; it's now thirty minutes before midnight. Idly, he flipped his cellphone open, scrolled his contact list and stopped as he found a familiar name.

Doubts of should he or shouldn't he hit the dial button were creeping through his mind now, but a glance to his monitor showing a photo of himself twelve years prior with a certain smiling youth of his age standing beside, made his thumb moved on its own to press the dial button.

Accompanied by the dial tone, Tezuka had a feeling that this phone call was going to take him into a different bond then the one he had with Fuji during their school days.

**-oOo-**

Fuji jerked in surprise as his cellphone suddenly rang loudly. He just finished putting his photo albums back in their place when the device continued with its incessant ringing. Half annoyed, Fuji approached his desk and checked the phone display.

'Tezuka Kunimitsu' flashed on the screen.

Smiling, Fuji mused that it looks like this time, he didn't have to be the one making the first move. Without wasting any more time, Fuji flipped his cellphone open and hit the answer button.

As he said a cheerful "Hello" to the other side of the line, Fuji had the feeling that this phone call was going to replace the rusty bond he had with Tezuka since junior high, with a whole new, different one.

_**--/NeverEnding/--**_

* * *

**A/N: **Yeah, I tried a different format here. I'm sorry, I wrote this fic kinda in a rush, so sorry if this isn't satisfactory -bricked-

Reviews would be greatly appreciated :D


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